England

England is often subdivided into three parts: the South, the Midlands and the North. The South. The landscape is varied. The climate is warmer than in other areas. There are hundreds of miles of sea coast which vary from flat or stony beaches to high rocky cliffs. The mild and sunny climate makes the south coast popular with holiday-makers. Some coastal resorts are famous, Brighton among them. Somerset, Devon and Cornwall are rural countries with hidden fishing hamlets and Britain's warmest weather in winter. There are high and deep wooded valleys. Inland, the landscape is gentle and green; it's famous for it's quite beauty of its countryside. One of the most beautiful countries in the South of England is certainly Kent. It is known as the gardens of England, because it is famous for its fruit and vegetables. In general, the South is wealthier than other areas of Britain. Work of all kinds is provided on the land. British Aerospace has factories building aeroplanes in several parts of the South. Lots of people are involved in service industries including financial, business and government services, computer services and information system. There are science-based companies and research organizations. The Midlands. The Midlands Region has much farming land, but this part of the country is better known as an industrial area. Birmingham which is often called 'the big heart of England', is the most important city of the Midlands. It is the second largest city in the United Kingdom. Birmingham is famous for engineering, especially car production. Derby is another engineering centre. Rolls Royce makes aero engines and cars there. The West Midlands, Another industrialized area where there are many collieries and steelworks, is known as the Black smoke and blackened buildings there. In contrast, the Midlands region has some beautiful picturesque countryside in the Peak District with its National Park. The North. The weather is considerably colder. There is almost always snow in winter. This is a region of great natural beauty although industry of some kind has existed here for hundreds of years. There is a great contrast in the North between the beautiful open, hilly countryside and the industrial towns and mining villages. In parts of the North - in Yorkshire particularly - there are gentle wooded valleys and green pastures and excellent farming land. West Yorkshire is very good country for ship-farming, and it has long been Britain's most important area for the wool industry. Some famous industrial cities in the North are Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds and Newcastle-on-Tyne.

English countryside

England looks like one great well-ordered park. The hedges surrounding the gardens look beautiful in spring. In summer when they are covered with leaves and flowers they are even better. In autumn they are gold, brown and red. In winter they are still beautiful, especially in the early winter when you can see a few red berries. As to the English gardens they are extremely fine with wonderful variety of trees. Englishmen like to preserve old trees. There are trees which were too old to be cut down for the building of ships in Cromwell's time that is in the 17th century. As the climate in Great Britain is very mild and there is much rain, the grass in Great Britain is much better than anywhere else. The country-side with its large green meadows and gardens with little country-houses and farms is very pleasant to look at.

English customs and traditions

Every nation and every country has its own customs and traditions. In Britain traditions play a more important part in the life of people than in other countries. Englishmen are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. There are a lot of customs you can enjoy. Some of them are very old games or plays. There is e.g. the Marbles Championship, where the British Champion is crowned; he wins a silver cup known among folk dancers is Morris Dancing, where people in beautiful clothes with ribbons and bells on them dance to traditional music with handkerchiefs or big sticks. Of a completely different style is the Boat Race on the river Thames, often on Eastern Sunday. A boat with a team from Oxford university and one with a team from Cambridge University hold a race. Hours before the race people arrive and sit along the river. The British think that the Grand National is the most exciting horse race in the world. It is at the Aintree Race Course, near Liverpool, every year. Sometimes it takes place on the same day as the Boat Race, sometimes a week later. Amateur riders as well as professional jockeys can take part. It is famous because the jumps are very high and the course is very long. If you don't like boat racing you won't have to stay at home on Easter Sunday. You can go Egg-rolling…: go to Avenham Park, with a hard boiled egg - it will look nicer if you have painted it. Take it to the top of the hill in Avenham Park - as you won't be alone there that day just follow the other people - and roll it down. That's it!!! If your egg doesn't break the 1st time you can do it again and… Oh, Avenham Park is near the ton of Preston, in Lancashire. May 1st isn't a public holiday in Britain, but the 1st Monday after it is. There are many May Day Celebrations, especially in the country. People erect a maypole then, a tall pole with ribbons hanging from the top. Young children dance round it, holding the ribbons. Teenage girls sometimes enter for the May Queen competition. Halloween is a day on which many children dress up in unusual costumes. The day was originally called All Halloween's Eve, because it fell on October 31, the eve of all Saint's Day. The name was later shortened to Halloween. "Remember, remember the 5th of November" are the words of an old English song. Why? Because in 1605, a man called Guy Fawkes had planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill king James 1st on that day (the king was to open Parliament then). But Guy Fawkes was caught and hanged. And still the British remember Guy Fawkes' Night or Bonfire Night. From early October you can see children with figures (called 'guys') made of sacks and straw and dressed in old clothes. The children say: "Penny for the Guy"- and with the money they collect in this way they buy fireworks. On November 5th the children put their 'Guy' on the bonfire, born it, and light their fireworks…and the British sky is full of light. At the end of the year there are the famous New Year celebrations. In London many people go to Trafalgar Square on New Year's Eve. There is singing and dancing and at 12 o'clock on December 31st - or should we say January 1st? - they all sing the famous song "Auld Lang Syne". A popular Scottish event is the Edinburg Festival for music and drama each year. And perhaps even more known is the Edinburg Military Tattoo from Edinburg Castle early September. A truly Welsh event is the Eisteddfod, a national festival of traditional poetry and music, with a competition for the best new poem in Welsh and for the best choir.

English stereotype

As is known in Britain there exists the accepted code of behavior. This accepted code of behavior of the British people doesn't allow the straightforward expression of what they think and feel. In contrast to Russians who prefer directness, British people tend to understate things. A conversation in English is full of hints, half tones and half-statements. British people will not particularly like to interfere in other people's affairs. They are known to have a cult of privacy. They generally tend to keep to themselves to hate to intrude in other people's privacy. For example, as a matter of fact, they don't particularly like to speak about their personal matters and interests and when they do, they always do it in an apologetic manner. In a conversation they mostly avoid direct questions and strong dogmatic ones, 'cause the culturally accepted code of behavior doesn't allow asking other people about their personal matters in a direct way. So we see that the British are guided by the principal of non-interfering in other people's affairs. The British see self-possession as the highest quality of human character. They regard the free display of emotions as vulgar and antisocial. They value highly the ability to stay calm in all kinds of situations and leave things unsaid. In one word - British are extremely reserved people. They are also considered to be industrious, polite, tradition-loving, courteous, honest, extremely nationalistic and etc. They are known to have a specific sense of humor. To my mind their humor is delicate.

The English year

The are four seasons in the year: spring, summer, autumn and winter. The winter months in Great Britain are November, December, January and February. The winter months are cold. In Great Britain in winter it snows and rains. November, There 30 days in November. It is the first winter month in Britain. In November there is a great holiday in America - Thanksgiving Day. Families come together for the day. They decorate the houses with autumn's fruts and flowers and eat traditional American food: roast turkey and pumpkin pie. December. There are 31 days in December. On the 25th of December there is the greatest holiday of all in England - Christmas or X-mas. People give each other presents and send Christmas cards. Pupils have their Christmas holidays. Most of the banks, offices and industrial enterprises close for holidays too. The traditional English dinner on Christmas Day is roast turkey and Christmas pudding. The Queen's speech is on television at 3.00 p.m. During Christmas in Trafalgar Square there is a Christmas tree. January. There 31 days in January. There is a lot of dancing, eating, and drinking during New Year Holidays.There is an interesting New Year tradition in Scotland: you can go "first footing". It means you visit you friends, so you are "the first foot" of the New Year in their houses. The Scots believe that the First Foot brings luck to the family for the New Year. The First Foot must be a man ( or a boy ), not a woman! And he must have dark hair . February. There are twenty eight or twenty nine days in February. The 14th of February is St. Valentine's Day. People buy or make Valentine cards and send them to their beloved. They don't sign their cards - you must guess who sent the card to you. Boys and girls, husbands and wives, relatives and friends send cards to each other. There are different cards to suit all tastes. In Great Britain there are two spring months: March and April March. There are 31 days in March. In England spring begins in the end of March. The 17th of March is a national holiday in Ireland - St. Patrick's Day. People send greeting cards. On that day people wear a shamrock. A shamrock is a plant with three leaves. It is the national emblem of Ireland. In March there is also a holiday for English women - Mother's Day. People in the family try to make it a day off for Mother and help her in any way they can. On that day they visit their mothers and give them some presents. If they can't do it they send their mothers "A Mother's Day Card". April. April is the second and the last spring month. There 30 days in April. In April or at the end of March people celebrate Easter Day. They celebrate it as the start of spring or a religious festival. In England it is time to give and get presents.On Easter Sunday children get chocolate Easter eggs or rabbits. The Easter holidays are at the end of March and in the first half of April. Pupils go back to school after Easter. In April there is a day for fun -April Fool's Day. It's on the first of April. English children like this day very much. They play jokes and tricks on other people: other children, parents, friends, relatives, school teachers. "Oh, Ted, look, your right shoe is on your left foot!" When the boy looks at his feet and sees that he has got them all right, the one, who is playing the joke, says, "April Fool!" So children play different jokes and tricks. May, June. July. August, In Great Britain summer begins in May. So there are four summer months. The weather is usually warm, but not always. It is often changeable. The days are long and the nights are short. When the sun is high in the sky, it is hot. People wear light clothes - cotton shirts, jeans, skirts, T-shirts and light shoes. In May on the first Monday English people celebrate the May Day holiday. In June the English people celebrate Father's Day. On that day children send cards and give presents to their fathers. On the 4th of July the Americans celebrate their most important holiday - the Independence Day. They display their flags, decorate their houses and hold street parades on that day. If the weather is fine, there are a lot of people on the beaches in July and August. September. October. Autumn comes in September. Autumn is usually a nice season in England. It is warm and dry. But it can rain a lot too. The summer holidays are over in September. The parks, beaches and streets of Britain are very quiet. It is time to go back to school. In Great Britain school begins in the second week of September. On the 31t of October there is a nice holiday for children - Halloween. People put pumpkins on the window-sills. They draw eyes, noses and mouths on the pumpkins and put candles into them. So the pumpkin looks like a face. Children dress up in tunny clothes. Ihey go from house to hous